Learning to Think

Learning to think logically and solve complex problems is an integral skill to learning the basics of chemistry as well as its many rich applications. I feel this skill is not one that can be taught once and memorized like a stack of facts. It needs to be practiced over and over again like learning how to play an instrument or throw a ball. This is a process I intend on working into my teaching along with the many other things I feel my students need to learn.

 

Teaching high school chemistry involves teaching two to three types of classes; first level general chemistry, more advanced second level chemistry and a possible AP level chemistry. Here I will focus on first level because that is from where my experience comes. The focus of first level chemistry is to learn the basics of chemistry as well as the basic skills used in the laboratory. I have a firm belief that students learn the most from the laboratory experience and my goal is to have as many of these experiences as possible. The successful integration of these labs with the lecture material represents the optimal learning experience for the student.

 

The goal for the first year students is to learn the fundamentals of chemistry as outlined in the National Science Education Standards. These include topics such as chemical nomenclature, atomic structure, the periodic table, Lewis structures, chemical reactions, stoichiometry and acid base reactions.

 

Another component for the students to learn are various skills needed to design and execute a variety of laboratory experiments.  They would learn how to design a simple experiment, conduct and collect the appropriate data and manipulate this data and make some proper conclusions.  There is a wide range of emphasis placed on laboratory skills depending on both the teacher and the school involved. I feel the laboratory experience is vital for learning chemistry and I am always searching for experiments that can be included into a curriculum for a low cost as the cost is often the argument against laboratory inclusion.

 

A writing component would also be included within the class. The large focus of this writing would be on scientific writing and would occur within the laboratory experiment write ups. These would be varied between standard write ups, letters, posters and presentations.

 

Most important in my class would be learning chemistry in a problem solving based environment. At times there is a need for the memorization of facts and values. I feel that there are far fewer of these instances than what many others believe. Chemistry can be taught as a logical systematic way of solving problems in a fun and exciting atmosphere rather than a boring, burdensome task of rote memorization.